Blueblood
by cosmiceyed
Summary: This is a Levi Ackerman fanfiction featuring Ariella Caruleo, a smart, witty girl who is more detrimental to the future of mankind than anybody could ever imagined.
1. Chapter 1

p style="text-align: center;" oemne/em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"prologue/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"emDisgusting./em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Dark brown hair, wound in a tight braid whipped against the wind like a whip, a small, agile girl tearing through the sky, a blade brandished in each pale hand. Her nose was pulled into a wrinkle of a thing, steely grey eyes narrowed in distaste at the four metre being before her. It was far bigger than her, yes. But, blegh. Damn the little things./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" The sharp sound of her gear filled the air as she landed on the shoulders of the beast, which roared and mewled as she dug her weapons into its shoulders to root herself to its body. Her voice was soft, but was a breath of cruel, cold words when she spoke to the monster; "ah. Why do Iem always /em get the little ones." She paused for a moment before ripping her weapons from the flesh and striking at the nape of the creatures neck under its shaggy red hair. It shrieked, worming for just a second before it fell to the ground. emDead./em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Without a second look, she was off in the direction of her team. The spring air smelled of rain and, well, blood. What more was too be expected? Everywhere she stepped was a battleground. She spotted a head of yellow-blonde hair and sped up, landing beside the boy who was running on the roof and easily keeping his pace. He turned to her, his blue eyes calm. He'd done this many times. Seen this far too often. "You get it?" She grumbled an incoherent response, and he chuckled. "I really don't know why you insist on staying away from the little ones. I mean, they're far bigger than you." His eyes twinkled as the girl, who was roughly five foot nothing scowled up at him. "They just look ridiculous." She muttered. He shrugged. "So do you." She growled in annoyance, a small smile gracing her lips as she shoved him slightly, staying in pace with her team./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" At the front of the group, Levi Ackerman turned his head, his raven locks framing his natural irritated expression. Really it was just neutral, but his sharp features made it appear as though he always wore a glare. His gunmetal eyes fell on the soldiers behind him, and he narrowed his eyes at the brunette in the very back. Something about her was so intensely annoying, he could barely stand being in the same room as her. But, she was a valuable soldier. Small, but quick and graceful. She was also the head of the DOCAM. em(Department of Communications and Manipulation.)/em Levi didn't even know that was a thing until the stupid seventeen year old brat had been emgiven /emthe position./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Armin nudged his comrade. "The captain is giving you the emlook /emagain." He muttered, his full eyes settling on the short, intimidating man. She glanced up, eyeing him, returning his annoyed look with, her eyebrows drawing down to her narrowing eyes. He snarled slightly, turning his head back around and she rolled her eyes, fixing her gaze on the titans just a while away. "I really don't know what his deal is." She sighed exasperatedly. Armin guffawed, tipping his head back, his hair falling off his youthful face. "You and emeverybody/em else, Ariella."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Ariella was about to make a snarky remark when the man himself called to her. "emCaruleo/em! Assist Mikasa with the titan on the left!" She slid her eyes over, happy too see it wasn't another short one. Seven meter class, at least. "Yes, sir!" She called, following Mikasa in their direction. She eyed the dark haired girl through her lashes. She didn't like her much. Yes, she was good. Hell, she was fantastic. Her skill rivaled Levi's own. She wasn't jealous of that, either. She was jealous for, er, emother/em reasons./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "You distract, emI'll/em kill." Mikasa told her. Ariella nodded. She was usually given the distract objective instead of the kill. She could kill, yes. She had atleast 10 self-kills and a very high number of assists on her record. She was small, sassy, and quick. She was emperfect/em titan bait./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" She sped ahead of Mikasa whipping around in front of the titan. "Hey, Ugly! Look over here!" She shouted. The titan whirled towards her, baring its sharp canines to the blonde. It gave a noise like a hiss, a carnivorous look in its big, brown eyes. "Come and get me!" The titan thrust out its hand and she jerked to the side, the big, meaty fingers leaving a gust of wind at her side. The adrenaline pounded in her ears, and she loved it. She flew up by its face, landing on its head and peering down just in time to see Mikasa cut the nape. She took off, landing on the roof as the titan hit the ground. Mikasa landed beside her, shooting her a sideways glance. "Good work," she said stonily. Ariella half nodded. "You too."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Then they both took off./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Ariella fell in pace beside Eren, right behind Levi. "Hey, good job. You're doing great today!" Eren said, shooting her a smile. She felt her cheeks heat up slightly. "Thanks. You too." She inwardly cringed. Was that really the best she had conversation wise? Eren didn't seem to notice, turning his head to the Corporal. "Captain Levi. Are we nearly done here?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Levi's eyes scanned the area. They were in Shiganshina, right near wall Maria, wiping out the last of the lingering titans hanging around. Even two years after Eren sealed the hole, there were still a few. Not many, though. But it was their job to get rid of emall /emof them. As of now, he spotted no more titans. "Yes. I think we'll head back, now. Should any titans show themselves on the way back." He extended his gear and swooped over his squad, landing behind them and heading back to Wall Rose. Everybody was momentarily confused, then turned and held up their steady pace, relieved the excursion had ended. Eren sighed heavily. "I wish I got more kills." He mumbled, to no one in particular. Ariella glanced over at him. "You killed emthree/em titans, Eren." She said, almost amused. He furrowed his brows. "I want to kill them emall/em." She nodded her head slightly. "You did very well. Your time will come." She paused./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "We will end them, one day." She promised, unknowingly. Eren peered at her through his lashes, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. With a surge of confidence, he turned his head back to the front, nodding his head. em"I know."/em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"* * */p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"strong(A/N: So, I just wanted to let y'know this story is NOT my number one priority, if anyone actually reads it. I'm currently writing an original story on Wattpad. If anyone is interested, I would appreciate it greatly if you could check it out. Also, leave me a comment if you came from here! :) /strong/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"strongWattpad link: a href=" story/74178802-a-thousand-years-for-eleanor" story/74178802-a-thousand-years-for-eleanor/em/a)/strong/p 


	2. Chapter 2

_two_

 _monstrous_

Warm, hazy sunlight filtered in through wooden shutters, slightly ajar. A thin stream of gold fell on the wooden floors and the white sheets. Ariella's eyes squeezed without open, and she turned away from the light, letting out a low groan, burying her face in her rough pillow, gratefully letting a curtain of hair block out the light. As if on cue, she heard footsteps start coming down the hall, and dread washed over her. She fully accepted her fate when a soft knock came on the door, followed by Armin's kind voice. "Ariella...? Can I come in? It's time to get up." She mumbled something like a _"yes"._ He pushed open the door slightly and looked around at her room. It was similar to most others, including his own. A bed, window, dresser, and chair. However she had added a small touch that made it feel slightly more comfortable. Little stones layed out neatly on the dresser, a few sheets of paper with cursive writing on it, both in english and another language that looked like french. Armin recalled Ariella's mother was of french heritage. He supposed she'd inherited the language.

His boots clicked against the floor as he moved towards the window, throwing open the shutters. He laughed quietly when Ariella hissed and curled away from it, whining something incoherent. "Don't you want breakfast?" He asked, hoping it would coax the sleepy girl out of bed. Ariella's silvery eyes fluttered open and she scowled at the area of wall that greeted her. "Alright, alright, I'm awake." She muttered, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She glanced at Armin and saw he was not wearing his uniform and blinked up at him. "We're allowed casual dress today?" Armin bobbed his head slightly. "Captain Levi said they needed to be washed, and that we probably won't be leaving today anyway." She was about to throw the covers off herself before she very quickly stopped herself. "Um, could you step outside while I get dressed? I'll only be a moment."

Armin's cheeks blushed red and he quickly stood, bowing his head. "O-Oh, yeah, sorry, no problem. Take your time." She smiled and he stepped outside, shutting the door behind him.

Ariella sighed and pushed the covers off her bare legs, ruffling her hair slightly and standing. She opened her drawer and pulled out one of the dresses she had for casual wear. It was just a white and brown dress, typical for a girl her age who wasn't of military status. She pulled the white shirt over her head and let it fall to the floor, not bothering to pick it up before putting on the dress. She tossed her long hair behind her shoulders, the loose ringlets bouncing with the rough movement and opened the door, joining Armin in the hallway. He smiled at her and they began to walk towards the eating area in comfortable silence.

Armin turned and looked at Ariella, she looked much younger when her hair wasn't tied back, and it was very long. Teasingly, he reached out and picked up a curl, twisting it slightly around his finger. She didn't really find this unusual. Nobody saw long hair all that often, and hers was quite long, coming to a halt at the small of her back. "Your hair is getting almost ridiculously long, Ella. You should cut it." This earned the blonde boy a scowl and he quickly retreated, dropping the piece of dark hair. "Or not." She laughed. "I don't have the heart to cut it." She paused. "My mother always liked it long." He nodded, smiling fondly. They said nothing else until they reached a wide room where their squad sat around breakfast, chattering aimlessly. Nobody really glanced up until the pair sat down.

"Well look who finally decided to show up." Jean teased. "You sleep like a corpse." Ariella rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless, sitting down beside him with Armin on the outside. "I wish you _were_ a corpse." She joked back. He mocked hurt, pressing a hand to his heart. "You wound me, Ariella." She giggled, biting into her bread. "That is my intention."

Levi's stern tone interrupted the banter. "You sleep too much," he said gruffly. "You should learn to wake up on time." Ariella almost glared at him but thought better of it. "I'll keep that in mind, Sir."

A _'hmph'_ was his only response before he fell silent, sipping his tea and training his stony eyes on the table.

Ariella glanced down at the plate before her. A little piece of bread and a couple of blueberries. She didn't really have much of an appetite _(she rarely did)_ , but she picked up a blueberry and ate it anyway. She glanced up carefully at Eren who sat opposite of her beside Mikasa _(of course)_ and a red tinge washed over her cheeks and she quickly looked down, curling to the side slightly like she was listening to whatever Jean was saying. However, most people noticed. Three pairs of eyes flicked between the two. Armin let out a soft sigh. Mikasa's lips turned up _ever_ so slightly. Levi wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes in distaste.

Eren, however, paid no mind, happily munching on his piece of bread.

Jean suddenly turned to the small brunette at his side, leaning down slightly and shuffling so his entire body was facing her. "Hey, Ariella, you were really good yesterday." She smiled slightly. "Thanks, Jean." He then sighed heavily. "You _always_ get the kills." Ariella paused, giving him a strange look. "That's.. not true." She said, her eyebrows furrowed. Then she grumbled. "By all means, if you want to kill the midgets, be my guest." Jean snorted. "The only _midget_ here is you and the Corporal."

Both immediately looked up and fixed him with an icy, deadly glare. The boy coughed uncomfortably as everybody looked at him wide eyed, shoving a hand in his hair to conceal his pale face from the eyes of Levi and Ariella. _Short, check. Scary, check._ He thought, biting into his bread.

Ariella huffed, irritated and returned to her breakfast. Eren chuckled under his breath and Ariella shot him a scowl, her face turning red and trailing down her neck. "You're.. _small._ " He mumbled. She got even redder, if that was even possible, mumbling a half-hearted, "shut up, Jaeger." and eating her blueberries. Levi spoke up very suddenly, his voice so sharp his squad felt the air between their conversations split. "Ariella, meet me in my office." No question, an _order._ Ariella jerked her head up and down, her face still flushed red. He set his teacup down with a miniscule clang, getting up and leaving the room.

Everybody teased Ariella like school children, and she snapped at them to shut up, hurriedly finishing what she could eat of her breakfast and handing the rest to Sasha, who went wide eyed and thanked the girl multiple times. Sasha _adored_ Ariella, if not for her personality, for her tiny stomach. Ariella got up and smoothed out her skirts, saying goodbye to Armin softly and retracing the way Levi had went, ignoring the cat call from Jean.

Her boots beneath her dress clicked against the stone as she walked through the castle corridors. She was slightly nervous – Levi rarely called people individually to his office. What could he need her and her alone for? She quickly swallowed her stress as she reached the regal looking door, raising her small fist and knocking firmly.

From inside the room, a dull, bored tone came through the door. "Who is it." Ariella dropped her arms. "Ariella, sir." There was a moment of silence and slight shuffling. "Come in." She hesitated for a moment before opening the door and stepping inside. Levi sat on one of the couches, he lazily pointed at a chair near it. "Sit."

She obeyed, quietly walking over and talking a seat. Levi watched her eerily as she did so, continuing as she sat down, his eyes trained on her, too proud to look away. She shifted uncomfortably in the seat, meeting his eyes for a split second before returning it to the floor awkwardly, clearing her throat quietly. "U-Uh, sir, why did you call me here?" He blinked, sitting up from his half lie position, resting his arms on the backs of the sofa. "Right." he grunted. "Well, I'll be frank with you. We kidnapped an abnormal and it's tied up in the woods." Ariella choked slightly, raising an eyebrow. _Mother of sin,_ he was blunt.

" _O-Okay_ , um, but, what does that have to do with me." Levi ran a hand through his hair, gripping the raven locks tightly as he did so, pulling it away from his face and making him look younger. "Well, you're the head of _DOCAM_ , so we want you to give talking to it a go." She squeaked slightly, and he dropped his hair, staring at her as if to say, _'I'm not really asking you, I'm telling you.'_ She seemed unsure of herself, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and finally meeting his eyes. Grey on grey, Levi's breath caught ever so slightly at the intensity of her gaze, but he quickly shook it off. "But _sir,_ I've never been close enough to a titan to do anything other than kill it."

Levi learned forward, propping his elbows on his knees and peering at her through his hair. "Ariella, this is your job. If you can beat the shit out of human beings and get them to talk, I'm sure you can handle a giant with half a brain." She blushed slightly. "Of course I'll _try_.. I just don't know if I'll be successful." Levi shook his head. "The chances of success are not high. That is why we only ask for your effort." She nodded her head, meeting his eyes again. "So, when do I do it."

He sat back, relieved. God knows she was the person for this job, even though it agitated him to admit it. If there was one thing Ariella was good at, it was making people squirm. "Now." She didn't seem surprised, but then she scowled. "What class is the abnormal?" He wanted to scoff, knowing why she asked the unnecessary question. Her weird fear of smaller titans was not something he had seen before. "It's of the five metre class."

Despite herself, Ariella sighed heavily. _"Fuck."_ She muttered under her breath.

Levi almost smiled.

Ariella quickly changed into her uniform, since she was now working, while Levi waited impatiently outside her door for the brief two minutes it took her to do so and tie back her hair in the usual woven plait. When she stepped outside, Levi looked her up and down, before meeting her eyes and expressing his boredom. "Satisified?"

"Yes, sir." She responded, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. Levi pretended not to notice, leading her out to the stables. He could sense her presence behind him, her short stature and soft footsteps. She was even shorter than him a 4'11. Irritating. Everything about Ariella Caruleo irritated Levi. Her dark brown her, her big doey silver eyes, soft skin, wide smile, her grace, poise. God, everything about her was just so _annoying._ He'd rather have anybody but her with him but unfortunately, her skill was needed for this task, much to his obvious displeasure.

He halted at the stables, a sneer on his face that he hadn't been aware was forming. He quickly neutralized his expression, opening a stall and mounting his horse while Ariella quickly did the same. Feeling like he should say something, his gruff voice arose. "Keep up." Ariella muttered a response and he took off, the girl hot on his heels.

Levi allowed himself to zone out on the way, breathing in the fresh air. It was rather serene. No titans in sight. He was aware Hanji was waiting at their destination, already having had a go at the abnormal to no avail, and she requested Ariella. She had asked Levi to help her, but he wanted to see Ariella have a go at it herself first.

He slowed when he could hear Hanji speaking to the abnormal, and so did Ariella. He could practically _smell_ the nervousness coming off her. He stopped when he saw the titan and dismounted his horse, throwing a glance at Ariella that suggests she should do the same. She whispered something to her horse, who he vaguely recalled being named _'Floral'_ and followed him quietly.

"Hanji." He said. The woman shot up, grinning wildly when saw the brunette over Levi's shoulder. "Ariella!" She crowed, running up to greet her. "Oh, I'm _so_ happy you came! I _really_ need your help!" Ariella smiled warmly. Despite her.. _intense_ personality, she thought Hanji was pretty great. "No worries. What should I do?" Hanji placed her hands on Ariella's shoulders. " _Anything_. We're trying to prove that all titans were once human, or test the theory. There are reports of titans speaking before, and we're interested to see if all titans can but just don't."

Ariella nodded, seeming to grasp the situation. Levi watched the two carefully, his eyes flicking to the abnormal every once in a while. "So, any things in particular I should ask it?" Hanji bobbed her head. "Anything about where he came from. Tell him a story about long ago, I know you love history, and see if it reacts. Just anything to get it to speak."

Ariella nodded, knitting her hands behind her back and walking to the titan. Hanji and Levi fell completely silent, watching her every move. She got very close, careful not to get close enough that it's mouth could snap at her.

" _Right."_ She breathed, trying to forget her superiors were watching her. She just focused on speaking to the titan kindly, like it was just another person. "Well, I've never done this before." She said, peering at it. "Speak to a titan, I mean." It only gave a blank stare. She breathed a small sigh, continuing to talk normally. "My name Ariella K. Caruleo. My position is Head of Communications and Manipulation, which basically means, I get people to talk. Hence why we're here now." She got an idea, kneeling before the titan, looking straight into its big eye. Hanji held her breath. The titan could kill her very easily within a moments notice.

"I was born in Shiganshina, inside Wall Maria. My mother named me after Lake Ariella. It's a beautiful lake. Clear blue water, surrounded by trees and flowers."

The titan shifted every so slightly, and Levi and Hanji watched intently. Ariella's silver eyes twinkled.

"Have you ever been?" She said coyly, smirking. The titan snapped at her, and Hanji gasped. Ariella was too quick however, springing backward and landing on her feet, crossing her arms and beginning to pace. "So you have been. That seemed to strike a nerve, eh?"

She halted her pace.

"A few years ago, Wall Maria was attacked. But I'm sure you knew that, _didn't you_?"

The titan gave no reaction.

"People were killed. Families destroyed. You see, if there is a chance that you were human. They could have been your blood. Your kin." Silence on the behalf of the titan. Ariella nodded. "I mean.. _If,_ right?"

"You know, nobody knows where those walls came from. Who built them.. Who founded the world inside the walls. And of course, it was far too long ago to retrieve such information-"

The titan suddenly began straining to get towards Ariella, lifting its head slightly. It blinked once, staring down the small girl. It seemed as though it was in pain, but desperate to speak. It sounded like it's throat was filled with cotton when it spoke, muffled and far away, barely decipherable. But.. it spoke.

" _Blue.. Blood.."_

Ariella stood in shock, dropping her hands from where they were behind her back, her eyes wide in shock as she stared at the titan. "W-Wha.." It's head thudded heavily back to the ground, causing Ariella to lose balance and fall on her bottom. Her hands shook. "Y-You spoke to me." She whispered. The titan stared back at her, as though exhausted. "Why.. _I-I.._ "

Levi shifted slightly, frozen solid for a few minutes before his eyes moved to Ariella, who was trembling. "Caruleo, are y-"

" _Blue blood."_ She whispered. The titan moaned as though in agony, its eyes widening as though it were crazy, desperate to tell her something. "What.. I-I've never heard such a word.. in all of history.. reports.. _blue blood.._ " Her eyebrows were furrowed, she glanced up at the titan, shakily standing to her feet.

Levi watched uncomfortably. Hanji was still in shock, staring at the abnormal. Ariella slowly walked towards the titan until she was right in front of its face. She placed a tiny hand on its cheek, kneeling to stare into it's eye. "What does that mean?" She whispered, trying to coax the titan into speaking again although it seemed to cause it great pain. Time stood still for a full _twenty_ seconds before the titan snapped its jaws at her again. This time latching its strong teeth onto her leg. She shouted, moving fast enough to keep her leg but obtain a serious injury.

Suddenly, Levi was at her side, roughly grabbing her arms and marching away, dragging her from the titan. "Are you _insane_? Don't get so close, you idiot." She just stared at him, still wide eyed. "It.. talked." Levi frowned. "I know." He said grimly. "It also nearly took off your _fucking leg_." Ariella glanced down at her leg, gigantic teeth marks embedded in her flesh. She breathed a shaky sigh, steeling her nerves. "It's not that bad." Levi let out an exasperated sigh, hoisting her around his shoulder to relieve the pressure on the wound.

" _Blue blood."_ He muttered, the words felt dangerous, like it would summon sort of hell. However, he was impressed Ariella had gotten it to speak. Especially with so little words and time. Titans talking was incredibly, incredibly rare. There was about a 3% chance this experiment would work, but Ariella did it with ease. Smart.. but annoying.

"What the hell does it _mean._ " She murmured, looking up into Levi's eyes. He shook his head, careful to keep a firm grip on her side. "I don't know." He admitted. His eyes moved and he stared at the titan. It gave him a look he couldn't decipher. Truly, Levi found it unsettling. It seemed as though he was mocking him, like it's knowledge exceeded his. Like;

 _Do you really know the world you're fighting for?_


	3. Chapter 3

p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"strong emthree/em/strong/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"strong emolder than sin/em/strong/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"em Ow./em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Ariella had rode her horse back to HQ, gritting her teeth the whole way. Her expression did not portray just how embad /emthe wound was. She could still feel the teeth in her flesh. Hanji had hurriedly bandaged it up so she wouldn't bleed to death, but she had gotten slightly dizzy on the trek back, fully aware of her blood seeping through the hasty dressing./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Immediately, she was brought to the infirmary, where she lay in bed now, a full seventeen hours later, sitting up, em(although she was told not too), /emand staring down at her wound. "How emfucking/em irritating." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her stomach. She was tired, she hadn't been able to sleep, the titans voice haunting her every waking thoughtem. /emUncomfortable, in pain and wanted nothing more than to wash her god damn hair. Levi had placed a stack of books on her bedside table, ordering her em'to make herself useful'./em Mostly history books. Of titans, humanity, etcetera. They were searching for some sort of traces of the word 'blueblood'. A peculiar word indeed. Nobody had heard it before. At least, not yet, they hadn't./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" So she read. emA lot/em. Truthfully, very, very little came of the task. She found references to the origin of why the wings of freedom was blue, however the origin was nowhere to be found. Many references to titan blood, and all that bullshit. So much for being emuseful./em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" The brunette was thigh-high in self-pity when all her thoughts came to a screeching halt with the entrance of a sheepish Eren Jaeger. She immediately felt her face heat up, smiling despite herself. "Hey." He said, glancing down at her leg and the stack of books beside her. "You look like you're having fun." She laughed, then sighed. "Yeah, it's a emwild/em party." He hesitantly walked over and sat on the end of the bed, opposite her bad leg. Ariella was proud of herself for not being as affected by him being so close as she thought she'd be./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "Whatcha readin'?" He asked, reaching over and grabbing a book. He flipped to a random page, his green eyes scanning the page. Ariella didn't speak, watching his face quietly, lips pursed as his eyebrow raised higher and higher on his forehead. "Titan blood?" He inquired. Ariella pinkened, scratching the back of her neck. "Captain Levi didn't tell you what.. went down?" She mumbled the last part, slightly unsure if anyone else was supposed to know. Eren shook his head, returning her book. "No, he didn't. What happened? He just said you got hurt, not how." Ariella rolled her eyes. "Eck." She muttered, shuffling to sit up slightly higher./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "I don't know if I'm supposed to tell anyone." She began. "So you can't tellem anyone, /emJaeger." Her silver eyes bored into his, emphasizing the importance he keep this between the two of them. He nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I won't tell anyone. No worries." She seemed hesitant, scanning his face. She did so for a moment, before hesitantly beginning to speak./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "Right. Well, Hanji asked me to help with talking to.. someone, who happened to be an abnormal titan they were holding captive out in the woods. I agreed, obviously. It's my job. So I got there, and I talked to it for a few minutes, then I.. I can't remember what I said.. but Eren, i-it emspoke/em! To me!"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Eren's green eyes grew wide but he didn't speak, waiting for her to continue./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "Talking seemed to cause it pain. Hell, emagony /emeven. It's voice was muffled, but I heard it.. so.. clearly." She took a deep breath. "It sat up, looked me dead in the face, and all it said was.. emblue blood/em." Eren sat back, leaning on his elbows. "Blue blood." He repeated. Ariella nodded. "That's what you were looking for.. in the books?" She nodded./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "And your leg?" He asked. She scowled down at the damaged limb. "I got too close."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Eren chuckled softly. "Wow." He murmured. "Things are.. really changing." Ariella heaved a breath. "Yeah, looks like it."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "Why don't I change your bandages for you?" He smiled. She blushed, about to protest that he didn't have too, but he was already up fetching clean ones. He quickly returned, pulling the blankets away from her gorey leg. He propped it up, his warm hand resting on her ankle. Ariella cleared her throat awkwardly, desperately trying to control her blushing face. "Thanks." He smiled. "No problem."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"* * */p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Levi leaned against the wall outside the door. He could hear the two teenagers rather clearly. He wasn't entirely sure why he was eavesdropping, rather desperately trying to justify the odd act. He wasn't sure if Ariella had said anything about the titan speaking, he'd just arrived, but when he heard them talking, instead of marching on in like he usually would, he paused outside the door./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "You know, you're really brave, Ariella."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "O-oh.. thank you." Levi could basically hear her stupid fucking blush. emPathetic./em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "I mean, you don't seem all that phased by what happened. Most people would be terrified or half mad."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Ariella cleared her throat softly. "I-I.. I don't think that's true..."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "Maybe, but still. You just seem so calm."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Ariella laughed./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "Eren, I didn't sleep at all last night. I.. I don't think I'll ever get it's voice out of my head." She murmured./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" So she did tell him. The emstupid/em fuck of a girl./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "A-And that word.." She continued. "Blue blood. What could it mean? I emhate /emnot knowing things. I just.."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" She trailed off. Levi furrowed his brow. He wasn't aware it was bothering her that much. The girl did put a good facade. Of course, it was natural it troubled her. Levi hadn't gotten much sleep, either. God knows Hanji didn't. Not that she emusually/em did./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "Don't worry, Kiy." Eren's voice was low and soft. Levi rarely heard the nickname em"Kiy"/em toward Ariella, which was short for her middle name, Kiyoko. She had briefly mentioned one time her friends called her that when she was little./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Eren continued after his pause. "If anyone could figure it out.. it'd be you." He said in a kind tone. "Or.. maybe Armin." They both giggled./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Levi saw that moment fit to interrupt. Bored and rather irritated by their almost accidental flirting. Gross./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"em "Jaeger."/em He said, loudly. Eren jumped slightly, and Ariella winced as he dropped her leg on the bed. "I'll finish her.." He gestured to her leg, then harshly to the door. Eren nodded, leaving the room with his head bowed./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Ariella's eyebrow slowly raised at Levi as he marched in rather unceremoniously and snatched up her ankle in his hand, making her face scrunch slightly. He noticed and slightened his grasp, wrapping up her leg and fixing Eren's shitty job. "Didn't take you as one for eavesdropping." She taunted. His eyes narrowed. "How old emare /emyou anyway, Corporal? Your face betrays you." He scoffed. "I'm twenty one." He muttered. Ariella let out a small laugh. "Older than sin." There was a pause, a slight em(okay, humongous)/em tension between the two./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "You won't be back in the field for a while." He said coldly. "You'll probably be in this bed for a few weeks."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Ariella seemed shocked. "What? A few weeks!? No, no, no. I'll be fine in a few days. Surely I'll be ready to be back to business in a emweek/em, Le- Captain."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Levi's eyes slowly lifted to meet hers, which were filled with accusation and.. betrayal. Jesus, how childish. "A week?" He said, almost wanting to laugh. Her eyebrows came down, her eyes slimming. "I can be back on my feet in a emweek/em, I know it."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "No, Ariella." He said, rolling his eyes. His tone was final, but she carried on, much to his annoyance. "I'm emtelling /emyou-"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Levi yanked her ankle toward him and slid his hand up her leg, fingers ghosting over he calf. He looked her dead in the eyes as his fingers slowly squeezed her leg. The more pressure he applied, the more she cried for him to stop. She writhed to get out of his tight hold, sobbing and gripping the sheets. "I'm sorry!em I'm sorry/em! S-Stop, please stop!" Levi averted his gaze when tears fell from her eyes, squeezed shut over gritted teeth. His hand slid back down to her ankle, his grip a bit more forgiving./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" He felt a pit in his stomach as his soldier sobbed, desperate to try and catch her breath. It was a wound that would leave even the strongest of soldiers bed ridden for longer than a fucking emweek/em./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "A week, Caruleo?" He said. Her eyes opened, tears swimming around in the anger. "Youem bastard/em." She spat. "You proved your fucking point. I don't want to be in the field with you emanyway, /emyou god damn sadist."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Levi chuckled humorlessly, finishing dressing her wound and setting down her ankle. His eyes floated back up to her tear stained face. "See you in a few weeks, Ariella."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"span style="font-style: normal;" She slurred insults in french, /spanem(probably unaware Levi understood every last word.)/emspan style="font-style: normal;" He decided not to react, simply turning on his heel and leaving the room, shutting the door quietly and silencing the flame of a girl inside the room. Her curses halted and she let out a strangled scream of frustration, then began to whimper again, unable to ignore the searing pain in her leg. Levi swallowed, walking away quickly. He didn't feel bad. She was acting like a stubborn brat, and she learned her lesson. What's a little pain, anyway?/span/p 


	4. Chapter 4

p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"strong(i just want to say that if any of the characters seem a little different in any way (i'm talking personality wise) it's because it's been two years since the whole female titan incident. So I believe they should all be between 17 and 18 now, far more mature than fifteen year old kids. I hope that explains some of the ooc behaviour. Cheerio!)/strong/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"emfour /em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"emarlert/em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Armin's boots slapped against the tiles as he made his way to Ariella's room. It'd been roughly four days since the incident, and well, Ariella hadn't eaten. Armin had been the only one to really notice, apart from Mikasa, who saw her only once or twice to drop off her meals. He was emslightly /emangry. Yes, she was confused, ridden with pain, and frustrated she couldn't be on her feet. But how did she expect to be up and running if she wasn't caring for herself. Levi had granted his squad the knowledge of what had led to one of their best fighters basically immobile. Everybody had been pitching in on helping Ariella research./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Armin threw open the door to her room. Ariella looked up, wide eyed with surprise. Armin usually carefully peaked his head into the room to see her before he entered. But today he marched in and slammed the tray down on her table. She was even more confused when he grabbed a chair and pulled it up by her bed, plopping down in it and slumping down, jabbing a finger at the tray, looking at her. Then he said, rather loudly. " Now/em."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Ariella just stared at him. What the hell had gotten into him? However, Ariella was pale. Her face was thinner and her silver eyes looked duller. "Do I have to emfeed/em you?" He asked coldly./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Ariella shook her head then, sluggishly reaching over and picking up the tray, setting it on her lap. Armin crossed his arms, staring at her. He wasn't going to leave or stop being scary until she ate emall of it. /emShe gingerly picked up the bread and nibbled on it, avoiding Armin's eyes. She ate very slowly, and took very small bites. "I'm not leaving until it's all gone so you may as well hurry up."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" The brunette looked up at him, her eyes filled with dread. She looked away slowly, swallowing thickly before she took a large bite. She chewed and swallowed. Almost immediately, she began feeling naseous. "A-Armin." She begged. He just stared at her. Her eyes pricked with tears. This was all just going to come back up. She took another bite, shuddering as she swallowed./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" She was about to take another bite, when the door opened. Levi waltzed in, taking in the situation. "What the hell are you doing?" He asked. Armin, without a second's hesitation and without tearing his eyes from Ariella said in a stony tone. "Ariella hasn't been eating, Captain." Ariella shot him a shocked look. Levi would be emfurious./em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Levi looked at Ariella. "Is this true, Caruleo?" Ariella set down her bread while Armin wasn't hawk-eyeing her. She nodded her head slowly, quickly speaking to defend herself, her voice coming out small and weak. "I just haven't had an appetite." She mumbled softly, feeling like she was going to be sick any second./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Levi pinched the bridge of his nose, tilting his face to the ceiling. "And when was the last time you ate, Ariella?" Ariella flinched. He very rarely called her much more than her last name. It sounded strange coming from his mouth. Before she could lie however, Armin spoke up, his tone still cold. "Four days, sir." Levi groaned. "Fucking hell, really? Four days? What the emfuck/em?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" She bowed her head, toying with the blanket on her lap awkwardly. Levi glared at her small figure, noticing now how she had deteriorated slightly. "Arlert, go away. I'll take care of her." Armin hesitated before standing up, kicking the chair back against the wall soundlessly. He left the room and Levi strode over to Ariella, grabbing her frail body and getting her up, supporting the weak side of her body. He could have easily carried her, but he knew she needed at least some practice up and moving around, and althougth she was half dead of starvation, now was as good a time as ever./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"emstrong(good logic levi)/strong/em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" The infirmary was only down the hall. Holding tight in case she fainted, he grimaced as her chest heaved once. He eyes were fluttering, and she was slightly green. "Fucking hell, Ariella." He whispered. "Before you faint, I just want to say.." He paused, slightly uncomfortable. "I'm... sorry for harming you the other day. It was uncalled for." She hobbled alongside him a few steps, too tired to speak, before, as he was expecting, passed out. He caught her easily, sighing and swooping her up, arm supporting her back and the other beneath her knees. He carried her the rest of the way to the infirmary very quickly, opening the door with his foot and walking inside, setting her gently down on one of the beds and then shouting for a nurse. A young lady scurries into the room, her eyes falling on Ariella. She calls some names. Levi backs away, watching the scene unfold as though in fast motion. He wants to look away out of respect when the nurse pulls up Ariella's shirt and exposes her shallow stomach, her ribs protruding from her pale skin that looks as thin as paper. He swallows hard. He was her captain. How had he not noticed. One of his finest soldiers was falling apart right under his nose./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" No. He was emnot/em responsible for her./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" But wasn't he? He'd known her since she was fifteen. He'd seen her grow into the soldier she is. Shouldn't he have at least looked out for her? Did he look out forem any/em of his soldiers?/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"em It's not your job. It's not your fucking job./em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"em But you should do it anyway, you fucking cunt./em/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Levi was still staring when Mikasa, Eren and Armin burst into the room. Eren pales when he sees Ariella's fragile body, her cheeks gaunt and her body limp. "What the.. What the hell happened?" Mikasa breathed a heavy sigh. They didn't even notice their Captain just a few feet away, still unable to tear his eyes away. "She hasn't been eating. I didn't think it was emthis/em bad." Armin ran a hand down his face. em"Moron."/em He murmured, his voice hushed among the bustle of the people inside the room./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" They then watched silently as a nurse held Ariella's head and fed her small sips of water. Somebody else had fetched soup, and they slowly spoon fed it to her./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Eventually she woke, her eyes flying open, spluttering as she choked on the soup. "Wha-emWha!?/em" She called. How the fuck did she get here? A nurse grabbed her shoulders and forced her down, commanding her to stay calm. "I emam/em calm!" She said, annoyed, yanking her body out of her grip. Her eyes flew to the side to see her friends and her Captain, Levi's expression was neutral if not annoyed, and her friends looked very concerned. She clenched her jaw. Jesus christ, she was fine!/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "Ariella, for God sake!em Stay still!/em" Her eyes dropped to her lap, falling still and sitting up at the end of the bed. "Alright.. alright." She muttered, embarrassed. The nurse tried to feed her again and Ariella yanked her chin away, glaring at her. "I can feed myself!" The nurse let out an unnecessarily loud groan. "What is emwith /emyou hard headed soldiers!" Ariella just grunted a response and took the bowl of soup, holding it in her lap./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" "Eat it." Levi spoke up, his voice unwavering. She gave him a deadly glare, slowly eating the soup so she wouldn't get sick. She knew her body would now take a while to adjust to food. It wasn't like she ate much before anyway./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" Levi watched as she ate the soup, exhaling deeply from his nose. That emidiot! /emHe was mostly annoyed he couldn't have her in the field. She was emvaluable/em for fuck sake! But the dumbass had to go and emstarve/em herself, after getting bit by a fucking titan because she practically danced in its mouth./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" But.. It emwasn't/em that. She had let him down in a way, and he didn't understand. God knows if it was Jaeger or Christa or some shit he'd just give them a slap up side the head and go on his merry way. But he felt.. betrayed. Guilty. And.. worried. He was worried about her. He wanted her to be okay. He realized now he absolutely resented seeing her like this, weak and useless. He was aware she was a very restless girl./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" But for fuck sake, emwhy did he care?/em/p 


End file.
